Landover Travel Guide: Things to Do, Landmarks, Food, and Itineraries

Landover, Maryland sits in Prince George's County just east of Washington, D.C., close enough to the capital that many visitors use it as a practical base while exploring the wider metro region. According to 2024 ACS 5-year estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, it's a community of roughly 24,500 residents with a median age around 35, which gives it the feel of a working, everyday place rather than a tourist district built solely around attractions. That's actually part of the appeal for a certain kind of traveler: Landover offers a quieter, more residential alternative to staying downtown, with easier parking, generally lower lodging costs, and quick access to major highways and transit lines that connect into the District.

This guide is meant as your starting point. For deeper dives into specific parts of a Landover visit, check out our companion pages: Best Things To Do in Landover, Top Landmarks in Landover, Where to Eat in Landover, our Landover 1-Day Itinerary and Landover 3-Day Itinerary, plus notes on the Best Time to Visit Landover and answers to common questions in our Landover FAQ.

Why Visit Landover

Landover's biggest draw for many travelers is its location. It's positioned along the Capital Beltway corridor, which makes it a workable jumping-off point for day trips into Washington, D.C., as well as other parts of Prince George's County and nearby Maryland communities. The area is also known regionally for FedExField, a large stadium that hosts major sporting events and occasional concerts, drawing visitors from across the mid-Atlantic on event days. Beyond that, Landover functions as a practical, lived-in suburb — a place with shopping centers, everyday dining, and residential streets rather than a dense concentration of tourist sites packed into a small downtown core. Visitors who prefer a slower pace, or who are visiting family or attending an event, often find that Landover suits their needs better than a hotel in the middle of the city.

Neighborhoods and Areas Worth Knowing

Landover isn't large, but it has a few distinct pockets worth understanding before you arrive. The area around FedExField and Arena Drive is the most recognizable, with large parking lots and roads designed to handle event traffic — expect this stretch to feel very different on game days versus quieter weekdays. The Landover Road corridor is the town's main commercial spine, hosting shopping plazas, chain restaurants, and services that cater to both residents and visitors passing through. Residential sections tend to be quieter, made up of single-family homes and garden apartment communities, reflecting the area's median gross rent of around $1,659 per 2024 ACS 5-year estimates, which is broadly in line with suburban Prince George's County. If you're staying in Landover as a base for exploring the wider region, it helps to know which part of town your hotel is in relative to the Beltway and to Metro-accessible points, since travel times to D.C. attractions can vary depending on traffic and time of day.

A First Look at Things to Do

Landover itself is not packed with formal tourist attractions, but the surrounding region is dense with them — the greater Washington, D.C. metro area is home to hundreds of mapped attractions, museums, and historic sites, many just a short drive or transit ride away. Locally, sports and event-going are a central activity thanks to FedExField, and the area's shopping centers offer a straightforward option for an afternoon of browsing or errands. For a fuller rundown of specific activities, spanning both hyperlocal spots and the easily reachable sites nearby, see our Best Things To Do in Landover page. If you're interested in landmarks specifically — historic markers, notable buildings, and points of civic or cultural interest in and around town — our Top Landmarks in Landover guide goes into more detail.

Where to Eat

Dining in Landover leans casual and convenient, with a mix of chain restaurants, fast-casual spots, and independent eateries spread along the town's main commercial roads, including the Landover Road corridor. Given its position within the greater D.C. metro area, which counts thousands of mapped restaurants and cafes across the region, visitors have a wide range of cuisines within a short drive, from Latin American and Caribbean fare reflecting Prince George's County's diverse population to standard American comfort food near the stadium and shopping areas. These figures reflect restaurant and cafe listings mapped in OpenStreetMap for the region, not ratings or rankings, so they're best used as a sense of variety and density rather than a guide to quality. Rather than singling out specific restaurants here, we'd point you to our dedicated Where to Eat in Landover page, which breaks down the local dining scene by type and area so you can pick what fits your trip.

Getting Around

Most visitors get around Landover and the surrounding area by car, and having one makes it considerably easier to reach shopping centers, restaurants, and regional attractions on your own schedule. That said, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's Blue and Silver Line trains stop at Landover station, connecting the area into the broader subway and bus network that reaches downtown D.C. and other parts of the region. If you plan to use public transit, contactless tap-to-pay is generally accepted, and it's worth checking the transit authority's official site for current route maps, service alerts, and payment details before you go, since specifics can change. Rideshare services also operate throughout the area and are a common option for shorter hops or trips where parking might be inconvenient.

Parking Considerations

Parking in Landover is generally more manageable than in central D.C., especially outside of major event times. Shopping centers and most restaurants offer their own lots. The exception is FedExField on event days, when traffic and parking can be significantly heavier and more structured, often with designated lots and traffic patterns managed for the event. If you're attending something at the stadium, plan for extra time getting in and out, and check the venue's official communications for current parking guidance rather than assuming standard rules apply. On non-event days, parking around town is typically straightforward.

Visitor Tips

Traffic on the Beltway and connecting roads can build up during typical commuting hours, so it's worth building extra time into your plans if you're heading into or out of D.C. during those windows. Weather in the region includes humid summers and cold winter stretches, which can affect outdoor plans, especially around event venues; our Best Time to Visit Landover page covers seasonal considerations in more depth. As with any urban and suburban travel in the region, ordinary precautions apply — keep valuables out of sight in parked cars, stay aware of your surroundings in busy lots and transit stations, and plan routes ahead of time, particularly at night.

Family Tips

Families visiting Landover often use it as a quiet home base while spending days out exploring the region's museums, monuments, and parks, many of which are within a manageable drive or transit ride. Hotels in and around Landover tend to offer more space and often easier parking than options closer to central D.C., which can be a practical consideration for families traveling with young children or a lot of gear. If your trip includes a stadium event, it's worth checking the venue's family policies and amenities in advance, since these are subject to change and are best confirmed on the official site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Landover a good base for visiting Washington, D.C.? Many travelers find it workable, particularly if they have a car or plan to use the Blue/Silver Line at Landover station, since it sits within a reasonable distance of the District along major roads and transit routes.

What is Landover best known for? It's most widely recognized for FedExField, a large sports and events venue that draws visitors from across the region.

Do I need a car in Landover? It's helpful, though not strictly required — the area has transit access via Landover station on the Blue and Silver Lines plus the local bus network, and rideshare services are also common.

For more detailed planning, including a suggested single-day route and a longer three-day regional itinerary, visit our Landover 1-Day Itinerary and Landover 3-Day Itinerary pages, and browse our full Landover FAQ for additional common questions.